The present invention relates to the art of scissors or shears and more particularly those that are employed in the art of personal haircutting. The invention finds particular application in facilitating the cutting of hair along an irregular line to provide a smoothed or blended overall appearance after cutting.
The traditional tools available to hairdressers, beauticians, and barbers for manual cutting of hair have included both a comb and straight-edge scissors. In a typical haircutting operation, an operator cuts the hair in a series of repetitive, straight linear cuts accomplished by separating a line of hair, usually with a comb, and trimming along a length of that line, resulting in hair of a uniform, preselected length. The next line would be selected from hair above or below the prior cutting line, with the next cut then being repeated in a similar fashion. In this way, the entire scalp might be addressed to achieve hair with a desired length.
If correctly and skillfully done, the above cutting procedure will finally result in a hair look that is substantially blended. If incorrectly done, that is to say if the subsequent lines have not been chosen properly, or if the repetitive lines do not result in hair lengths substantially consistent, the resultant look after a completed cutting is one of steps or discrete lines in the hair. The process of consistently acquiring a smooth appearing final look, requires one to be skilled and knowledgeable in the art. Even if one were to be skilled, however, a relatively small margin of error still leaves a substantial chance for less smoothness in the completed cut than otherwise would be desirable.
With the foregoing conditions in mind, the present invention contemplates a means to substantially lessen the chances of resulting discrete ridges in a completed haircut, while lessening the overall skill necessary to consistently accomplish that result.
A first attempt to remedy some of the above noted problems was made by W. J. Servilla in U.S. Pat. No. 2,677,179. There, a shear with a waved blade was contemplated to result in a cut with less discrete edges than was possible with the use of a straight-edge shear. The Serville disclosure broadly taught the use of waved blades wherein three or less total periods of the wave were present resulting in wave lengths that were substantially in excess of their amplitude, or changes in length of hair along a cutting line. The resultant cut from the Servilla shears, therefore, had substantial chance for overlap with that of a prior or subsequent cut, which could result in the stepped edge the invention sought to eliminate.
Another problem associated with the Servilla shear came with the relative proximity of the cutting blades to the pivot point of the blades. Naturally resultant from the use of a pivot point is that fact that the closer the shear blades is to the pivot point, the less displacement of one blade from its counterpart during cutting. Therefore, when two blades meet close to the point of intersection, and further when the point of intersection is given no gap between the blades, there is a substantial chance that hair still present within the shear at that point will be lodged within the shear and not severed. This may result in a jamming of the shear, and pain to a person whose hair is being cut.
The disclosure of S. Briskman, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 2,850,803, issued Sept. 9, 1958, disclosed broadly the use of sinusoidally curved cutting blades on a shear. The disclosure of Briskman, et al. is geared to construction of a shear adapted to cutting of cloth and similar material. Its bulk and relative length of the intersection of its first and second blades, where the meshing and cutting action is accomplished, makes it unsuitable for use in hair. The hair could be lodged within the shear and not severed properly if it was attempted to be used therefor. Also, the relative bulk and weight of the shear would make it unsuitable for the repetitive, intricate manipulation necessary for a haircutting procedure.
A substantial demand exists for a shear that will eliminate the problems associated with repetitive linear cuts of hair which cause a stepped or unsmooth appearance. The demand also seeks a lightweight and easily manipulable shear to accomplish this result, with a substantial lessening in the likelihood of a potential painful lodging of uncut hair within a closed shear.
The present invention overcomes the foregoing difficulty and others. It contemplates a shear equal to the task of easily, quickly, and with less skill than heretofore, required, obtaining a substantially smooth appearing haircut.